Barbed wire, iron gate business booming
JAKARTA (JP): Unlike many other commercial activities, the business of iron gates and barbed wires in the capital has been booming since the May 1998 riots and is mainly due to skyrocketing demands by wealthy Jakartans.
Although the prices have at least doubled by producers and traders, many property owners insist on shielding their assets such as mansions, shops and business centers, with high gates and barbed wires in an all-out effort to protect their belongings from being touched or torched by mobs after what many Jakartans experienced last year.
Speaking to The Jakarta Post on Monday, businessmen dealing in the production, design and installation of the iron gates and barbed wires said orders doubled especially right after the May 1998 uproar and in these weeks ahead of the upcoming June general election.
"Until today, the orders keep flowing in," said a representative of Gampang Ingat iron gate shop which sells the popular Varia brand name on Jl. Hayam Wuruk in West Jakarta.
Monthly orders at the shop have now tripled to 30 gates, compared to 10 sold each month before the May 1998 riots rocked the capital, said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He explained the total price charged for installation and painting of iron gates currently ranges from Rp 700,000 (US$87.50) to Rp 1.1 million per square meter.
"Most Jakartans, especially those residing in West and South Jakarta, apparently do not care about this (price)," he added.
To date, hundreds of May 1998 riot-torn buildings with broken windows and burned facades are still easily spotted in and around the capital.
The 1998 riots, the largest which ever took place in the history of Jakarta, claimed over a thousand lives and caused losses totaling billions of rupiah.
Such grim sceneries are still witnessed in Cengkareng and along Jl. Daan Mogot, Jl. Hayam Wuruk and in Kalideres in West Jakarta, and Cileduk and Cipete in South Jakarta.
"I think, those sights are enough to scare them (the wealthy families) to buy (newly-modified) iron gates," the representative of Gampang Ingat shop said.
The sales of barbed wire were also the same.
Rewo of Dua Saudara shop on Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta in West Jakarta said the price of 4-meter barbed wire of standard quality has climbed to Rp 4,500 from Rp 1,400 previously.
Special quality barbed wire is now priced at Rp 26,000, nearly double than the previous Rp 15,000, he said.
"But still, people keep on buying it," Rewo said.
The increased need of iron gates and barbed wires in the city has also led to a significant hike for raw materials.
Due to alluring prices, many people have taken a short cut to earn money from the business by stealing anything made of iron, including from public facilities, to sell later to iron shops.
Many giant traffic signs and fixtures at toll roads in and around the capital have gone missing.
On the Kebon Jeruk-Tangerang toll road, for example, iron sheets installed by the operator to help drivers see by deflecting strong lights coming from vehicles in opposite lanes, have also gone missing.
Amin of Besi Bungur iron shop in Central Jakarta said that the "supply" of raw materials has never stopped and therefore, his shop has never rejected any orders.
"Our shop always bought the raw materials, no matter how expensive they were," Amin said but did not explain who his suppliers were.
According to him, the iron gates or barbed wires are not similar with chilies.
"People can opt not to buy chilies when its prices go up. But gates?" he said.
"It's about protection. Nobody sane wants to be caught in riots... everybody's scared of dying," Amin added.
Some customers even asked for new designs for their gates or barbed wires which forced shop owners to be more creative to meet orders.
"There are many who want the ends of wires to be shaped like bunga duri (flower thorns). They believe that this model would scare people off their property," Amin said. (ylt/bsr)